Escaping the Labyrinth: The Release
by GiftsofGab
Summary: Spoilers for LIE! As Grigor prepares to readjust to life before the incident in Athens, he finds himself in the company of a familiar friend.


As the bailiff removed Grigor's handcuffs, the actor furrowed his brow, but had a soft smile on his face.

"Go change," the officer said, handing him a box of the possessions he had when arrested. Grigor looked down into the box and chuckled.

The courthouse doors opened, and out stepped Grigor. He squinted in the sunlight and looked around for a bus station or a taxi to take him to a cheap motel.

At the bottom of the courthouse steps was a black rental car with dark windows. As the driver door opened, Grigor paused and watched as a pair of penny loafers stretched out of the vehicle, followed by a titian beauty in slacks and a nice blouse.

"Hi, stranger," the figure called.

"Nancy?" Grigor gaped. He rushed down the steps and slid the possessions box onto the top of the car. He grabbed Nancy's hands and smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Grigor," the young detective beamed. "We can talk soon, but first… Let's get you some new clothes." Nancy looked down at the Hermes costume Grigor had been wearing the day he was arrested.

Grigor laughed and nodded in embarrassed agreement.

* * *

In a clothing store in downtown Athens, Grigor tried on several items in a changing room.

"I can't believe this- have you been in Greece all this time?" he shouted through the fitting room door.

"I've been back home, actually," Nancy replied, browsing through a rack of shirts. "I got here last night."

"What brings you back to Athens?"

A voice came over the store's speaker system and spoke in Greek.

"Oh, I think that means they're closing for lunch," Grigor said, opening the changing stall door and adjusted his new outfit. "Better?" he asked as Nancy turned toward him. Along with his own messenger bag, he was sporting a dark green quarter-zip sweater and dark wash jeans with Timberland boots.

"I dunno, I think I'm going to miss the shoes with wings," Nancy quipped.

* * *

At a gyro shop, Nancy and Grigor sat outside to enjoy lunch.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Grigor asked, motioning to his clothes.

Nancy swallowed a bite of her food. "You can pay me back with interest," she joked.

"How much interest are we talking?"

"A ferry-load of charon coins."

Grigor smiled lightly, then looked down at his meal, feeling dejected.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought up the play," Nancy cringed.

"No, it's fine," he replied, moving his food around with a fork. "I've just been focusing on other things so much lately, I almost forgot about it entirely."

"I talked to Melina. She told me you've been doing some evaluating."

"Yeah. At the release trial last week, I told her I've been trying to figure things out. With no family or even friends- no one to remember the old me- I can be whoever I want now."

"Well, I'm your friend."

"And what do you remember about me, I wonder?"

"Well, you're witty, a great actor, and very bold."

"Only a true friend would be so honest," Grigor grinned.

Nancy giggled and shook her head. He was still the same old, sharp boy she had met last summer. The girl's mind filled with memories of a slightly younger Grigor. She thought about the mere day they spent together. Somehow, she felt she had gotten to know him far beyond the words they spoke to each other.

"Remember what you asked me when we first met?" she asked.

Grigor thought for a moment. "Oh, man, I asked if you wanted to be more than friends." He put his hand over his face and sighed. "Smooth guy, right here." He sat up straight and perked up. "But now that you bring it up- still got a steady back home?"

"Did I mention you were bold?" Nancy laughed. The truth was that she and Ned had broken up months ago. She had done her lot of being upset over it, and was ready to move on. She bit her lip and relaxed her shoulders a bit.

Grigor could see in her eyes that he'd struck a nerve. He cleared his throat and took a bite of his salad. "So, Nancy," he began with a mouthful of lettuce, "I gotta ask, why are you here?"

"Well, my dad got some time off work, so I thought he and I could take a trip to Greece, see the sights, visit the museum."

"Where's your dad now?"

"Back at the hotel. We're going sight-seeing today if you'd like to join us."

"Sure I wouldn't be imposing?" His reply was cool, but he was burning inside at the opportunity before him. Where just an hour ago he felt the terror of begging in the streets for change for a place to sleep, he was now distracted by the hope of keeping occupied for at least a day with a girl he'd often brought up in memories from last year.

"Not at all," Nancy grinned.

The two finished lunch and headed back to Nancy's hotel.

* * *

"Dad?" Nancy peaked into the hotel room and saw her father talking on his cellphone at a desk. He put up a finger and mouthed, "One sec."

Grigor and Nancy entered the room and waited patiently for Carson Drew to end his phone call. "Take care," the man said into the phone, then hung up. He spun the office chair toward his daughter and her guest.

"Dad, this is Grigor."

Carson stood up and shook Grigor's hand. "Nice to meet you. Nancy's told me all about you and your theatrical endeavors."

"All good things, I hope."

"Mostly, but the good reviews spoke for themselves," Carson said, recalling the newspapers which detailed Grigor's last play.

"Shame no one got to see the true ending," Grigor shrugged. "Nancy had to come steal the show." He nudged Nancy with his elbow.

"Yes," Carson began. "Nancy told me all about your situation last year."

"Sorry," Nancy mouthed when Grigor shot her a curious glance as if to ask, "Couldn't you have left that out?"

"Nancy, I have to make a few more phone calls, but I thought you might take Grigor to the museum or to see some of the sights."

"Sure, Dad," she nodded. She kissed her father goodbye and she and Grigor took the rental car into town.

"I thought you said your dad got work off," Grigor queried as Nancy drove through the beautiful cityscape.

"That's the life of a lawyer. Always busy, even when promised he won't be."

"I see," said Grigor. He rolled down his window and put an arm out.

"Well, where to, Mr. Karakinos?"

Grigor put on a snooty, rich accent. "What say we take a walk around the city centre, then see where the wind takes us, darling.~"

"The city centre it is."

Nancy parked and the two started exploring the shops. There were clothing stores, small grocery stores, restaurants, and many more shops to behold. At each establishment the two entered, Grigor requested an application in secret, shoving it into his messenger bag before Nancy could see. He had no funds saved away anywhere, and knew he would need a job as soon as he could get one.

At one point, the two entered a bakery. Because Nancy knew little to no Greek, she left all clerk interaction to her travel buddy. Grigor ordered a dessert and sat down at a small booth with Nancy.

"Okay, this is called galaktoboureko."

"You're not going to make me repeat that, are you?" Nancy asked, blindly impressed with Grigor's pronunciation.

"Not if you try it," he said, gathering some of the custard onto a spoon and offering it to Nancy.

"Oh, uh, alright," she said, a bit uncomfortable with being fed by someone else, especially in public. She took the bite and savored the sweet creaminess. "That's really good!"

The two continued to peruse the shops, and eventually wandered into a costume store, an arcade, and finally a souvenir shop. Here, they browsed the knick-knacks, each looking for something more ridiculous than the last thing. Nancy bought her father a hideous keychain which looked like a misshapen Nemean lion. She and Grigor walked out of the shop laughing. They approached the parking lot where they had started their trek around town.

"Today has been amazing," Grigor said, showing off a bright smile. He looked down and ran his hand through his hair. Nancy noticed his arm flex as he did this.

"I don't know what to say," he said, as he walked to the driver's side of the rental car and opened the door for Nancy. He shut it behind her, then went back around and slid into the passenger seat.

"I wasn't ready to walk down those courthouse steps. I had no idea what to do with my life today, but there you were."

"When Melina mentioned your release today," Nancy said, "I thought I'd come by and check in on you."

"Well, I'm glad you did." He said, turning more toward Nancy than to the front of the car. He looked at her intently- _contently_. It had been a year, and Nancy had only gotten more beautiful.

Nancy stared back and thought about the hard time Grigor must have had in prison, and must have ahead of him, with no prospects or relations.

"Hey, Grigor," she began.

"Yeah?" he said, turning even more toward her.

"I wanted to say sorry…"

He settled down in his seat. "What for?"

"I'm sorry you got caught up in everything- I should have found a way, some way, to help you out of there. I shouldn't have been so suspicious. I wish I had set aside my detective work and realized... That you weren't a criminal at heart, you were a great guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. I should have-"

"Hey," Grigor said, putting a hand on her chin. "Things would have ended up the same. It was my fault. I got involved and how things turned out wasn't your fault. You were just doing your job."

She sighed, and looked up at him with heavy eyes.

"Let's go to the museum," Grigor said after a moment of staring deep into her eyes.

"Huh? Are you sure?" Nancy didn't want any negative memories to well up in Grigor.

"I'm sure," he replied. "I'll teach you everything you pretended to know last year," he laughed.

* * *

At the museum door, Nancy showed the ticket taker a pass she had received from Melina, which allowed free entrance, along with a guest.

The pair spent a little over an hour in the museum. Grigor told Nancy about much of the history without looking at a single plaque. Several times Nancy caught herself drifting off in thought about certain events that had taken place last summer during her time in Greece.

"And this is a statue of Hestia, goddess of architecture and sister to Demeter, among many others." He glanced down from the statue to see Nancy leaning on the railing, biting her lip softly, staring into space. "Uh, she was famous for inventing bouncy castles and mobile homes."

"Right," Nancy nodded. "...Wait, bouncy castles?"

He chuckled lightly. "Are you okay, Nancy?"

"Sorry," she replied, regaining her composure. "I was just thinking about…"

Grigor became serious and turned his head to the side a bit, eager to hear her reply. "Yeah?"

"Oh, about my work at the museum. I put together these temple designs on display myself last year."

"Oh, right. Of course." Grigor looked at the images and faked a quick smile.

After Grigor had given Nancy the rundown on every artifact at the museum, the two left and walked down the front steps. It had become dark outside and few other people were still at the museum.

"Well, now what?" asked Grigor cooly, fiddling with his hands. On the outside, he looked eager to continue sightseeing, but his heart felt heaving knowing he'd have to find sleeping arrangements that night. Straight out of prison and with no funds, Grigor had no idea what streetlife was like in Athens, but he gritted his teeth thinking about sleeping while hidden in a back alley again. In his past, it was not uncommon for him to run out of a foster home, facing the reality of the low chances of being adopted. He'd often trudge across the city streets at night, keeping an eye out for a place he would be undisturbed until morning.

"Hey," Nancy said, waving her hand in front of Grigor's face. "Earth to Grigor."

The man shook his head, and the teenage memories faded away. "Sorry, were you saying something?"

"I was showing you this," Nancy said, motioning to a lit glass case outside the museum. There was a poster for a play at the amphitheatre that night.

"Medea, eh?" Grigor read the poster. The play would begin in an hour.

"This is my dad's favorite Greek story."

Grigor could see Nancy was reluctant and too polite to ask if they could attend. He swallowed his emotions like broken glass, then said, "Well then, we should take him to see it."

Nancy knew Grigor had made a sacrifice in accompanying her and her father to the show and she greatly appreciated it. She thanked him, then called Carson and had him arrange a lift to the show. After hanging up, she and Grigor walked across the courtyard to the amphitheatre, then she showed her pass to the play's ticket taker, and received a ticket for herself and her guest, then purchased one for her father, which she left for him on-call at the booth.

The young detective and her guest were seated nicely in unreserved seats in the prime section. Not long after, Nancy's father arrived and sat beside his daughter, with Grigor on her other side.

"Big fan of Medea's, eh?" Grigor asked Carson.

"It's Aegus that really sells it for me," the lawyer replied. "His desire provides an escape and his offer allows for Medea to begin plotting her revenge."

"Nancy, you didn't tell me you father had such an eye for the deeper aspects of theatre," Grigor gushed.

"I had no idea, but I sure hope he didn't just spoil the play for me," Nancy squinted at her dad.

"Nothing major," her friend assured her.

"And the play has been around for 2400 years, dear," Carson chimed.

"This guy!" Grigor exclaimed. "He gets me!"

The two men jested together, much to the dismay of Nancy, and the play got underway within the next few minutes.

After sitting through nearly an hour of angry weeping and grudges, Nancy finally took interest in the play once the title character's evil plots began to grow. At each twist in Medea's plans, Nancy's brow wrinkled in concentration.

During a silence in the play, Grigor noticed Nancy's hand in the space between their seats. Bold and suave as ever, and keeping his eyes forward on the play, he reached for Nancy's hand.

Suddenly, a character burst through a door on stage, and caused Nancy to jump and place her hands in her lap.

Grigor looked down at his hand which was left hovering over the concrete space between himself and Nancy. He sighed and placed it down, then noticed the excitement the theatre brought to the girl. He relaxed and gave a small smile, refocusing on the play and enjoying it alongside her.

* * *

When the play had finished, the onlookers shuffled out of the the theatre. Nancy noticed the actors were coming from backstage to do meet-and-greets with audience members who had VIP tickets.

"Dad, my pass should let you meet the players if you're interested," said Nancy.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to? Or you, Grigor?" he asked.

The two politely declined and off Carson went with Nancy's museum pass to meet the actors.

"Didn't want to learn any insight on the play?" Nancy asked Grigor.

"Nah, I think I'll try to avoid acting troupes for a while," he shrugged, smirking, yet attached to strong memories of the people who had betrayed him in his last acting role.

Nancy frowned and looked around awkwardly as they waited on her father. As she surveyed the theatre, she noticed a sign that read, "Employees Only." It was a sign blocking off the backstage area.

"Come with me," Nancy said, walking off without a response.

Grigor looked surprised, but after a hesitant look back at Nancy's father, he followed the girl eagerly.

"Going on an adventure?" he inquired.

"You know me," she said, climbing the stairs on the side of the stage, looking around, and crouching under the rope and sign blocking off the backstage.

Grigor read the sign with raised eyebrows. He shook his head, and also looked around before crouching under it himself.

"You have a problem listening to authority, don't you?" he asked. He stood up straight from stooping below the sign. As he looked up, he saw familiar sights. The lightboard was across from him, where Nancy was now standing, and beside him was the fly system.

"Careful by the fly system," Nancy said. "It'll kill you," she sang.

Grigor gave a nervous laugh. He felt a wave of emotions overcome him. There was joy because he was standing in one of the last places he had been before his incarceration, and there was sadness because of the same reason.

"Well, this certainly brings back some memories."

Nancy thought it might make Grigor happy to be in a familiar place again, with machinery he knew how to handle and an atmosphere he loved at a time.

"Oh," the girl began, realizing good memories may not be the only ones returning. "I'm sorry, I'm so stupid. Let's go back to Dad."

"No, no, it's fine," he said. "Just…" He went to stand at the lightboard. "I believe I was usually over here last time." He was close to Nancy now, a head taller than her, and he looked down into her eyes.

"Today was fun," Nancy smiled. "I'm glad we got to spend some time together while I'm here."

"Me too," he said, not smiling, but still looking at her eyes. Or was it her lips?

"I hope everything works out for the best when you get home," she said nervously.

Grigor looked back at Nancy's eyes, then sighed through his nose. He backed away a bit. "I don't really have a place to go home to."

"Grigor, there's…"

At that moment, Nancy's father came backstage, hunching under the rope and sign. "Alright, thanks so much, buh-bye." He hung up his cell and placed it in his pocket. "I knew I'd find you behind a sign that says 'Employees Only', Nancy. You two are going to get us kicked out before I even get to meet the actors."

"What happened?" Nancy asked.

"I got that phone call. That was Hannah," Carson began, then shot a glance at Grigor. "Our housekeeper."

Grigor nodded.

With a tongue in his cheek, Carson looked at his daughter. "She said everything has been prepared."

Nancy tried to hold back a vivid grin as her father gave her a quick smile and left the backstage area.

"Everything okay?" Grigor asked, watching Nancy's dad walk away.

"Grigor," the girl began cheerily. "There is house a few miles outside of my hometown River Heights. It belongs to our friends, but they're abroad this year on business. They're letting us use it as a vacation spot, but when we heard about your release, we asked if, well, they would allow you to house there in their absence."

Grigor was baffled and had a faint, confused smile. "I don't understand."

"If you'd like, you can come home- home to the States, and start new." She reached for his hand and felt his palm on her fingertips.

Grigor's heart skipped and he looked down at his hand. He wanted to live in that moment and let her fingertips smooth over his palm forever. He wrapped his fingers around hers and rubbed her hand with his thumb.

"Nancy, you didn't come here on vacation, did you?"

She blushed and looked down at her feet. "I came for you."

"You came all this way… for me?"

"Grigor, everything from back then is behind you now. It's like you said: you can be whoever you want to be now. There's no one to hold you back, no one watching your every move. You can have whatever you want."

"Well, Nancy Drew," he began, as he moved closer to the young detective, putting his arms around her waist. "Tell me what you want." His eyes explored hers.

The girl blushed heavily and gazed back at her old friend. "I…" She closed her eyes.

He moved in even closer and put his forehead against hers with his eyes closed as well.

She furrowed her brow in the strong wave of emotions that was overcoming her.

"I want to be more than friends."

"I'm open to that," Grigor chimed, as he then quickly held Nancy's head with one hand, the other still around her lower back. He pulled her head closer and kissed her deeply, breathing in sharply through his nose.

Nancy breathed in surprise and gave over immediately. She gently pressed her lips against his in return. She leaned back as Grigor kissed her, her elbow sliding against a lever on the lightboard.

As a result, the lights on stage shown light red. The audience and actors all turned to the stage and watched as the lights flickered from reds to pinks.

Nancy opened her eyes and moved back from Grigor's kiss. She laughed nervously, as did he. "You never did show me the right way to do this," Nancy said of the machine, quickly turning to shut off the lights on stage.

"I can teach you a thing or two," Grigor smiled, turning a knob. The lights backstage dimmed as he embraced Nancy to kiss her once more, exploring the corners of her lips with his. She put her arms around his shoulders and enjoyed every moment in the low light.


End file.
